ONE of Scotland’s leading composers, James MacMillan, has called for Frank McAveety, the culture minister, to be sacked, claiming that he is one of a number of “ignorant” and “incompetent” politicians who are destroying Scotland’s reputation in the arts world.

MacMillan has also refused to participate in the cultural commission review of arts provision, set up by the Scottish executive, which he has branded as “pointless”.

He is particularly scathing about McAveety’s handling of Scottish Opera and fears that other national companies are under threat.

The problem is exacerbated by the situation in England. With more money around since the Boyden report, the actors' and technical unions were able to strike a better deal for their members. But, of course, the new minimum rates apply equally to Scotland, where there is no extra cash to offset the increased costs.

Managing director of UZ events Neil Butler, whose company has a three-year contract to run the festival to promote the city’s east end, will put forward a business plan to the City Events working group at Glasgow City Council.

The company will then formally approach potential funding bodies including the Scottish Arts Council, EventScotland, VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise to raise the £700,000 needed to mount the new programme.

Call for more investment into £135m Edinburgh festivals By Alistair Smith for The Stage

The results, which also found that the festivals create an equivalent of 2,900 full-time jobs, form the first part of a two-stage year-long survey costing £67,000 and commissioned by Edinburgh City Council as well as development and tourism bodies.

One suspects that reaction in Scottish government circles to news of the various Edinburgh festivals’ contributions to the country’s economy will be somewhat mixed.

It will be heartening to learn that the explosion of theatre activity during the summer generates a total of £135 million annually. The downside for the executive is that, implicit in the report, is a plea for greater financial investment by the national and the city authorities. The parallels with the 1998 Wyndham Report into London’s West End are immediately apparent. Having established that Theatreland played a key role in attracting more than £1 billion to the London economy, it was but a short step for its adherents to argue that its future needed to be placed on a more secure footing.

THE SNP are calling for the effective abolition of the Scottish Arts Council and the creation of a Scottish Academy instead, in a submission to the Cultural Commission review.

They argue that companies such as Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, should be funded directly by the Scottish Executive. They also recommend penalties for non-delivery of targets.

Stalin would have admired this talk of ‘cultural services’ By Jenny Hjul for The Times

There has never been a problem here producing top-notch musicians, singers, painters, dancers, writers and actors, nor curators, directors and impresarios. Artists and art lovers seem to materialise generation after generation, apparently with complete disregard for the political climate of the day.

If the arts were dependent on political favour the world, not just Scotland, would have been deprived of centuries of cultural riches. However, arts companies, even internationally renowned ones, require funding to maintain standards and that is where Scotland has a problem.

Councils call for SAC to be stripped of funding duties By Ruth Gillespie for The Stage

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which represents the 32 councils north of the border, has called on the government to establish a ministerial department that would assume national funding and administration res-ponsibilities for the arts - thus stripping the Scottish Arts Council of many of its current duties.

In its submission to the Cultural Commission, the body established last year to reshape arts policy in Scot-land, COSLA has claimed that organisations such as SAC are currently unable to act as independent advocates for the cultural sector while they are also charged with implementing government policy and administering funds.

Given the recent bad press which quangos have received, the arts groups claim this kind of arm's length body can be a better mechanism for overseeing a sector than a politically driven government department.Theatre companies in particular fear an establishment grip could mean diminished creativity and risk.

Blueprint for future of arts demands £100 millionby TIM CORNWELL for the Scotsman

The hefty report - with 284 pages and 124 recommendations, promised something for everyone in the arts - includes extra cash for Scottish theatres and Edinburgh's festivals, proposed national standards for architecture, tax breaks for hard-up artists and vouchers for schoolchildren to go to theatres, films or galleries.

The awards are open to anyone in Scotland under 30 who is struggling to finance the furthering of their career. More than £400,000 has been paid out to 18 talented performers over the three years the awards have been running.

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